Faye (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
said_scarlett) wrote2006-07-31 10:47 am
said_scarlett) wrote2006-07-31 10:47 am
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Breaking For More Book Babble!
Yeah, technically I'm cleaning but I strained something so I'm waiting for pills to kick in.
I finished 'When the Bough Breaks'. Yeah, I didn't enjoy it very much. Didn't like the characters, didn't like how a lot of stuff was handled, and didn't like how most of the violence seemed more for shock treatment than for actual plot. There were too many scenes that just didn't fit, the storyline seemed chunky and poorly thought out, and the characters suffered from that habit of Mercedes Lackey's to write personalities rather than characters.
If I read any more Mercedes Lackey, it's going to be re-reading the Bardic Voices series or reading the rest of the Last Herald Mage series. Why I actually want to finish that series, I have no idea. Vanyel is a whiny, annoying, super-speshul Gary-Stu. And it's rare that I refer to canon characters as Gary-Stus, but he deserves it. He's got a life that trumps any Anne Mcaffery heroine, and that takes a lot. Between the Super Rare Never Seen Before Combination Of Powers, the Super Special Powers that developed late in life (which omg never happens like this!), the fact that he's the Most Powerful Herald Mage ever and can do things no one else can, the fact that every character pretty much ends up wrapping their life around his, the fact that he has the Horrible Awful Abusive And Unloved Past, and the fact that he goes out of his way to misunderstand everyone in order to wallow in his self-pity... yeah. Oh, and he's the most beautiful young man ever. Plus he sings and plays instruments and writes. His major flaws: being too sad and thinking he's weak for every little thing.
I wanted to smack him through most of the book. Also? I had a lot of issues with how the same sex stuff was handled. I really didn't like the fact that every gay male is a stereotypical caricature of gayness. Delicate, feminine, slim, emotional, fond of pretty clothing and looking perfect... (Have I mentioned Vanyel's completely unbelievable and nonsensical sexuality crisis yet? No? I'll spare you.)
The super-specialness is not exactly surprising, from Mercedes Lackey. Her characters tend to be over the top and Sue/Stuish. Rune, the heroine of 'The Lark and the Wren', suffers the same omg!tragic past, the abuse, the emotional stunting, the awesome special powers, the love and devotion of every character she meets (except for the people who hate her and want to rape her/beat her/make her miserable/kill her) and the constant stream of ANGST! ANGST! But Rune, at least, doesn't wallow in self-pity too much. But in the Bardic Voices series, pretty much every character we meet is powerful, amazing, awesome, and over-the-top. Nightingale, anyone? Wren? Kestrel? Robin? Yeah. Hell, even Shana, of the Elvenbane, is pretty Suish. I bless Andre Norton for muting most of the annoying crap, though.
But I still go back and read her books. I'd call them a guilty pleasure, but I sometimes wonder how much of a pleasure they really are. The Last Herald Mage, yes. I don't know. I can't stand Vanyel (or any of the other characters, except maybe Savil) but I still want to see what happens.
Alright, pills have kicked in, back to cleaning!
I finished 'When the Bough Breaks'. Yeah, I didn't enjoy it very much. Didn't like the characters, didn't like how a lot of stuff was handled, and didn't like how most of the violence seemed more for shock treatment than for actual plot. There were too many scenes that just didn't fit, the storyline seemed chunky and poorly thought out, and the characters suffered from that habit of Mercedes Lackey's to write personalities rather than characters.
If I read any more Mercedes Lackey, it's going to be re-reading the Bardic Voices series or reading the rest of the Last Herald Mage series. Why I actually want to finish that series, I have no idea. Vanyel is a whiny, annoying, super-speshul Gary-Stu. And it's rare that I refer to canon characters as Gary-Stus, but he deserves it. He's got a life that trumps any Anne Mcaffery heroine, and that takes a lot. Between the Super Rare Never Seen Before Combination Of Powers, the Super Special Powers that developed late in life (which omg never happens like this!), the fact that he's the Most Powerful Herald Mage ever and can do things no one else can, the fact that every character pretty much ends up wrapping their life around his, the fact that he has the Horrible Awful Abusive And Unloved Past, and the fact that he goes out of his way to misunderstand everyone in order to wallow in his self-pity... yeah. Oh, and he's the most beautiful young man ever. Plus he sings and plays instruments and writes. His major flaws: being too sad and thinking he's weak for every little thing.
I wanted to smack him through most of the book. Also? I had a lot of issues with how the same sex stuff was handled. I really didn't like the fact that every gay male is a stereotypical caricature of gayness. Delicate, feminine, slim, emotional, fond of pretty clothing and looking perfect... (Have I mentioned Vanyel's completely unbelievable and nonsensical sexuality crisis yet? No? I'll spare you.)
The super-specialness is not exactly surprising, from Mercedes Lackey. Her characters tend to be over the top and Sue/Stuish. Rune, the heroine of 'The Lark and the Wren', suffers the same omg!tragic past, the abuse, the emotional stunting, the awesome special powers, the love and devotion of every character she meets (except for the people who hate her and want to rape her/beat her/make her miserable/kill her) and the constant stream of ANGST! ANGST! But Rune, at least, doesn't wallow in self-pity too much. But in the Bardic Voices series, pretty much every character we meet is powerful, amazing, awesome, and over-the-top. Nightingale, anyone? Wren? Kestrel? Robin? Yeah. Hell, even Shana, of the Elvenbane, is pretty Suish. I bless Andre Norton for muting most of the annoying crap, though.
But I still go back and read her books. I'd call them a guilty pleasure, but I sometimes wonder how much of a pleasure they really are. The Last Herald Mage, yes. I don't know. I can't stand Vanyel (or any of the other characters, except maybe Savil) but I still want to see what happens.
Alright, pills have kicked in, back to cleaning!